Bernard McCarthy, Birżebbuġa
Sky TV in Malta
Over a year ago I read in The Times that Sky TV would become available in Malta under the name Sky Malta as an alternative to Melita and Go. A local enterpreneur was the driving force behind it.
I’m wondering if this idea ever bore fruit because when I made enquiries about Sky TV in Malta there seemed to be a plethora of providers but I’m not sure if what they are offering is legal. My main interest is in receiving the live TV channels as they are broadcast in the UK, particularly BBC.
I would be interested in hearing from any readers who legally receive UK TV at the time it is broadcast.
I fully appreciate that it might be easier to subscribe to Melita or Go but I want to avoid flip-flopping between them as they change platforms every few years.
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kevin fletcher
Jan 8th, 21:18
We have had the box for just over a week.
It works fine on our Sony LCD even with our variable melita broadband.
Its not HD but a reasonable standard picture of all the live tv channels.
Also includes bbc and itv players
David Willow
Jan 9th, 07:59
@ Kevin F....is that the www.britishtv24.com box....that sounds good to me if it is.
David Willow
Jan 9th, 07:59
is there a make and model on the box?
kevin fletcher
Jan 9th, 16:20
David
re your question
Yes its the www.britishtv24.com box.
There is no branding on the box anywhere, apart from the name android.
From what I can gather the processor is 1.2ghz and it uses Android 2.3
The TV application works without any vpn or proxy, not sure how.
We were a customer of their tv service via our computer for 5 months before moving to this box.
That service was on a different website www.britishtvabroad.com not the tv24 one.
The channels are similar, the bbc iplayer and itv player work also
Not sure what will happen when melita has a bad day, but it seems to be standing up well to the
changes in the internet.
David Willow
Jan 9th, 20:33
Thanks Kevin - thats very very interesting as we really fancy having itv i player and bbc iplayer - we do get itv but its a little hitty missy..... and am looking for a more stable offering.
Joseph Scerri
Jan 8th, 18:32
All you have to do is google expat shield and download it and then go to goole iplayer and you have all tv and radio stations of the bbc plus itv ect tv . You can watch live and on demand as well. All this is Free.
Thanks.
Joe Fenech
Jan 8th, 09:41
You cannot get BBC stations abroad (except BBC World) as this is national TV for which the Brits pay .
David Willow
Jan 8th, 09:59
yes you can - you use a VPN proxy to get them and it is quite legal for i-players as these are not used for live tv transmissions.
P Bonnici
Jan 8th, 01:13
BBC TV channels such as BBC1 and BBC2 are intended for the UK only. I wonder if they are being legally transmitted in Malta.
David Willow
Jan 8th, 09:59
yes they are being transmitted quite legally as part of the new EU directive in global transmissions
Ms. P.M Graham
Jan 7th, 17:56
Bernard and David. i had this company's old system where you had to use the computer and it got lots of buffering and freezing. This system seems to be 100% better though in bad weather everything seems to freeze a little.
No complaints here and the good thing is that there's no computer involved and of course it's easily moved around.
James Tyrrell
Jan 7th, 20:09
Surely the quality is going to depend on your broadband speed. I have around 15mb/sec here and can watch TV on the laptop no problem if need be but if you have a low speed connection that is going to mean continuous buffering with freezing.
David Willow
Jan 8th, 10:02
i agree as i have used many a system and find i get a little freezing and buffering but not too much to make it annoying.... - it does tend to improve with a faster BB speed but you must remember you are still streaming and that means downloading so it goes against your download limit.
Saviour Caruana
Jan 7th, 15:21
Try www.tellyabroad.com if you have a sky account in the UK you can access all your sky channels anywhere via internet.
Bernard McCarthy
Jan 7th, 14:19
Thank you all for your positive comments, a good number of options to investigate. My next question was to be the one which David Willow asked of Ms Graham, about quality of reception.
Bernard McCarthy.
James Tyrrell
Jan 7th, 12:58
Why doesn't Malta have Freesat available as we have in the UK? I refused to pay Sky's subscription charges here and instead got myself a Humax Freesat+ box and a dish. I now have over 150 channels including some in HD totally free of charge.
David Willow
Jan 8th, 10:04
good question James but of the free channels that i have seen on freesat there is not a lot to watch..the mainstream uk tv channels need a much bigger dish for good reception 1.6m upwards....
David Willow
Jan 7th, 12:33
This is also available too http://www.watchbritishtvabroad.com/about-box-buy.php
i have this on trial at the moment and its not bad at all. and it includes a remote and PVR recording function too - and you can go back and catch up with the things you have missed just by backtracking in the program guide and pressing OK.....only need the box, an internet connection, scart or av connection ot tv and a power supply ...simple but effective.
Stephen Parnis
Jan 7th, 12:00
Try www.filmon.com
Mr Peter Vella
Jan 7th, 12:49
This is a good option but costs about £15 per month and you only get freeview channls (BBC 1 and 2) so no Sky. As an alternative you can buy a UK VPN connection (google it) at £3 per month, and watch via BBC iPlayer.
David Willow
Jan 7th, 13:15
you get bbc 1 2 itv 1 2 3 4 dave ch4 ch5 and the e4 derivatives also international sports channels , 4 comedy channels, latin channels german channels, french channels italian channels and documentary. movie channels, lifestyle channels,some free channels, and music channels - NT SKY admittedly but its not a bad alternative....and all for 15euros per month.......and no proxy....
Mr Duncan Scerri
Jan 7th, 11:12
As someone who has a Sky UK subscription running here in Malta, I can tell you that you will not be able to receive BBC channels. The broadcasting footprint is too small to reach Malta. Even with a very large dish.
Paul Kew
Jan 7th, 10:51
As far as I am aware you would not get any BBC channels as you need a UK TV license so Sky do not beem the programmes outside of the Uk Zone. Similarly I do not think you can get www.bbc.co.uk but only www.bbc.com
Ms. P.M Graham
Jan 7th, 10:13
Check the similar stories, to the right and you will see it was January 2010
I contacted SKY and the MCA last year to ask the very same question and was told that there were no plans for this to happen.
You can however get the channels you want legally.
http://www.britishtv24.com/
All you need is an internet connection. I use vodafone and wallah, there you go, and if you want it in more than one room you just buy another box.
David Willow
Jan 7th, 12:43
how are you finding the quality of the tv while running is it stopping freezing or running fats or slow and is the audio running out of synch with the video......
David Willow
Jan 8th, 10:06
www.britishtv24.com looks very promising and i like the look oif the set top box - not too big or intrusive and simple for install too....id love to hear from anyone who is using this box on a daily basis - is the picture quality standard definition or HD.